Ottawa Fury home opener a test for new-look club

The Ottawa Fury play their home opener against North Carolina FC Saturday afternoon, and there will be plenty of new things to watch out for.

The team's soccer season at TD Place will kick off with a new coaching staff, a benchload of new players signed in the off-season, and a new home uniform, or "kit" for those of you who still call the game football.

According to new head coach Nikola Popovic, the players are going to have to get used to a few changes as well.

Like the Fury coaches who came before him, Popovic is pushing the "possession-oriented attacking style" that fans love, but that means nothing if the opposing team is better at possessing and attacking.

The change, Popovic hopes, will happen in the dressing room, where there's certain behaviour the new coach just won't tolerate.

Putting team 1st

"Complaining, blaming, defensive attitudes — these kill the culture," Popovic told CBC Radio's All In A Day.

The players are getting the message, he said. "They're responding very well."

One of his top priorities is to help the players form a bond that places the interests of the club ahead of individuals.

"It's a new team. It's a new way of playing. It's a new coach who doesn't know the players. The players don't know the coach. Everything is new. This bond is very important for us." 

Popovic is well aware the team's woeful start to the season — three losses and just one goal in three games — is frustrating for fans, but he's confident the Fury can turn the corner.

"Of course people like to see the score board of the last game. But if you see how they were able to fight, it wasn't about only 'me,' it was about 'we'. It was about the club. It was about the culture. And if you see carefully the game, I think it's starting."

Full CBC interview with head coach Nikola Popovic: